Having performed together locally in their native Lookout Mountain, Georgia, since the 1970s, the four sisters began singing full-time in the 1980s and signed to Warner Records Nashville in 1984.

Their style has been compared to other contemporary family-based country music groups such as The Judds and The Whites, while critical reception to their body of work has generally been mixed.

[3] The group's debut single "(That's What You Do) When You're in Love", released in mid-1985, reached a peak of number ten on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

[2] Muscle Shoals-based songwriters Terry Skinner and J. L. Wallace produced the album and co-wrote both "When You're in Love" and "Mama's Never Seen Those Eyes"; they wrote the former with Ken Bell, with whom they had previously recorded in the band Bama.

[10] Also stemming from the album's commercial success was an extensive touring schedule, consisting of performances with Alabama, George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, and several other country music artists throughout 35 states.

[12] People published a positive review, praising the vocal deliveries of all four sisters while also stating that the album "warms the heart while it invigorates the toe".

[13] Cliff Radel of The Cincinnati Enquirer rated the album 2 out of 5 stars, calling the singing "clear as the sky on a crisp fall day" but criticizing the "poverty stricken songs".

[14] Montreal Gazette writer Lucinda Chodan contrasted the quartet's sound with that of The Judds, stating that "those celestial voices are harmonizing in the service of songs that, for the most part, are about as individual as pennies in a jar."

[2] Included on the album were a cover of The Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face", and the Harlan Howard composition "These Lips Don't Know How to Say Goodbye",[19] later a top-ten country hit for Doug Stone in 1991.

[20] Songwriter Wendy Waldman, who wrote "Love Will", handled most of the production duties on this album, with assistance on some tracks from Beckett, Stroud, and Norman.

[10] Jan Walker of The Orlando Sentinel said that "there's a confident sound to each of the 10 songs on the album, a showcase for the seemingly effortless natural harmony of four sibling voices.

This included renditions of traditional hymns and spirituals such as "Amazing Grace" and "Precious Memories", along with popular 20th-century gospel songs such as "This Ole House".

These were a cover of John Hiatt's "Drive South" which also featured guest vocals from the Bellamy Brothers, and "Nothing's Gonna Bother Me Tonight".

The sisters noted that previous producers had wanted to highlight their "softer" sound, whereas Byrne was willing to include country rock and Western swing.

[2] Johnny Loftus reviewed the album with favor on AllMusic, calling "Men" a "Bonnie Raitt-lite country pop number", and finding influences of Western swing and gospel in some tracks while simultaneously complimenting the sisters' harmonies.

'"[31] The sisters took a hiatus from recording for much of the mid-1990s, but continued to tour regionally, though primarily on weekends in order to tend to their children the rest of the week.

[32] After this album, the sisters decided to retire from the music business, citing both a desire to spend more time with their families and the genre's increasing focus on male artists.

[4] A review of Perfume, Ribbons & Pearls published in People compared Kathy and Kim's voices favorably to Terri Gibbs.

[13] James M. Tarbox of Knight Ridder News Services described the sisters' voices as having "a coquetteish playfulness they keep under enough control that it neither becomes cloying nor prevents them from offering something as thoughtful as the hit 'Too Many Rivers'".

[4][6] Similarly, a review of Perfume, Ribbons & Pearls in People stated that "Along with the Judds, the Foresters have helped fill the female group gap in country music".